The Welfare of Pit Ponies
Concern for animal welfare can be precarious, as the history of Britain’s pit ponies shows.
History Matters
Thoughts, opinions and commentary on all things historical.
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Adelaide Casely Hayford’s African Education
Colonial schools eroded national identity and pride; in Sierra Leone a new way of teaching had to be found.
The Rise and Fall of Mein Kampf
Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf was an unexpected bestseller, whose success rose and fell with its author.
Sun Tzu and the Art of Becoming Famous
How did Sun Tzu and The Art of War become synonymous with strategy in the West?
The Medieval University Experience
The experiences of medieval university students are familiar: they missed their mothers, asked for money and got into trouble.
The Case of the Poison Pen Letters
Anonymity can be a powerful shield. Tracing the culprit when it came to libellous letter-writing in the early 1900s was not straightforward
‘Jane Eyre’ Goes to the Theatre
When it arrived on the Victorian stage, Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre had a cast of new characters and a new social order.
Behind Closed Doors: Women and the Inquisition
What was there to fear from a medieval inquisition? For the inquisitors, quite a lot.
David Reubeni and Africa’s Lost Tribe of Israel
A Black Jewish man arrived in Venice with stories of a lost Jewish kingdom that could save Europe’s Jews. Why was he believed?
Ready, Set, Show!
When a Victorian celebrity sportsman was found to be taking performance-enhancing drugs it caused a sensation, not a scandal.